^^^^        fMlSC:  PUBS.]^  Sfp 


APPLE  CULTURE 


....IN....  1 


Los     Angeles     County.   I'^OS/ 


....BY.... 
TRED-n    MASnEW 


ISSUED  BY  THE  BOARD  O^  SUgERVISORS  > 
"J^S  ANGELES  COUNTY  ,  CoL  ^ 


This  bulletin  was  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  Apple  Growers' 

Association  and  the  Horticultural  Commission  by  the 

Secretary  of  the  Association 


JANUARY,  1903 


To  the  Hon.  Board  of  Horticultural  Commissioners,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Gentlemen:  A  resolution  adopted  by  the  members  of  the  Apple  Grow- 
ers' Association  of  Los  Angeles  County  in  January  of  the  present  year,  pledg- 
ing themselves  to  co-operate  with  the  Horticultural  Commission  is  combat- 
ing the  insect  pests  and  fungus  diseases  infesting  the  apple  orchards,  and 
declaring  their  belief  that  vigorous  and  concerted  efforts  would  eventually 
restore  the  industry  to  a  profitable  basis,  resulted  in  my  being  detailed  to 
investigate  the  condition  of  the  apple  orchards,  and  endeavor  to  locate  the 
causes  of  failure,  both  on  the  part  of  the  trees  to  produce  profitable  crops 
of  fruit,  and  of  the  owners  to  control  the  ravages  of  the  pests  that  infest 
them.  The  investigations  were  confined  to  the  apple  orchards  of  the  Fourth 
Supervisorial  District,  and  the  following  is  submitted  as  a  report  of  the 
case: 

These  investigations  and  experiments  were  conducted  in  addition  to  the 
general  inspection  work  required  in  the  district. 

FRED'K   MASKEW. 


Observations  on  the  Apple  Industry  in  this  County 
— Meetings 

Monthly  meetings  were  held  in  the  several  localities  wh^re  apples  are 
grown  commercially,  and  as  a  rule  were  very  well  attended.  A  complete 
collection  of  the  insects,  and  illustrations  of  the  diseases  infesting  the  ap- 
ple, were  exhibited  at  these  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  familiarizing  the 
growers  with  the  different  forms,  and  soliciting  inquiries  regarding  their 
habits,  also  a  list  of  the  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
of  the  different  Experiment  Stations  dealing  specifically  with  the  same  from 
an  economic  standpoint.  A  special  effort  was  made  to  induce  the  growers 
to  apply  for  the  Bulletins  dealing  with  their  own  peculiar  troubles,  in  the 
hopes  tiat  it  would  not  only  lead  to  a  better  understanding  of  causes  and 
remedies,  but  would  suggest  lines  of  thought  for  further  observations  and 
experiments. 

The  policy  adopted  was  to  make  the  principal  topic  of  discussion  at 
each  meeting  a  timely  one,  one  covering  the  work  needed  in  the  orchard 
during  the  following  month,  and  by  introducing  a  paper  upon  the  subject 
lead  up  to  a  discussion  which  would  bring  out  the  ideas  and  experience  of 
•those  who  have  been  actually  engaged  in  this  work  in  this  locality  for  a 
great  many  years.  These  subjects  were  not  confined  to  insecticidal  and 
fungicidal  work  alone,  but  included  the  principles  of  planting,  pruning,  culti- 
vating, picking,  packing,  storing  and  marketing  apples. 

Committees  were  appointed  in  the  different  localities  to  promptly  re- 
port the  appearance  of  any  new  pest,  and  also  to  gather  data  and  furnish 
reports  on  the  following  subjects:  Relative  blossoming  time  of  different 
varieties  for  pollination  purposes;  dates  of  first  appearance  of  codling-moth 
and  first  appearance  of  worms  in  the  fruit;  date  of  first  appearance  of  fungus 
on  fruit;   approximate  cost  of  the  different  spraying  operations. 

The  Orchards 

With  but  very  few  exceptions,  the  apple  orchards  that  have  come  under 
this  Investigation  are  merely  incidental  to  the  general  business  of  agricul- 
ture, and  the  first  and  fundamental  cause  of  their  failure  to  produce  profit- 
able crops  of  fruit  is  neglect.  The  land  is  utilized  to  its  fullest  extent  in 
the  production  of  other  crops  (often  weeds)  and  whatever  fruit  is  obtained 
is  considered  as  clear  gain.  Pruning  is  practiced  with  a  view  to  the  ease 
of  close  cultivation  rather  than  to  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  trees,  and 
spraying  is  interfered  with  and  generally  made  impossible  by  the  presence 
of  the  crops  grown  between  the  tree  rows. 

Fertilizing  as  understood  by  the  growers  of  citrus  fruit  in  this  county 
is  unknown.  The  relation  that  this  may  have  to  the  failure  to  produce 
profitable  crops  of  apples  by  some  of  the  older  orchards  where  the  trees 
are  set  108  to  the  acre  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  statement  of  Prof. 
I.  P.  Roberts,  who,  in  an  experimental  study  of  the  question,  found  that  in 
allowing  35  trees  to  an  acre  and  a  yield  of  15  bushels  to  a  tree,  the  plant 
food  removed  in  20  crops  of  apples  and  the  leaves  for  the  same  period, 
amounted  in  round  numbers  to  1.337  pounds  of  nitrogen,  310  pounds  of 
phosphoric  acid,  and  1.895  pounds  of  potash. 

That  they  should  produce  any  fruit  at  all  under  the  system  of  care  that 
has  been  in  vogue  in  many  of  them  for  the  past  ten  years,  is  surprising,  and 
is  proof  of  the  extraordinary  vitality  of  the  apple  and  ability  to  adapt  itself 
to  circumstances. 

In  the  commercial  apple  orchads  where  varieties  adapted  to  the  loca- 
tion and  cross-pollination  have  been  planted,  where  thorough  cultivation  Is 
practiced, — "where  the  land  is  tilled  for  the  land's  sake,"  and  not  merely  to 
kill  weeds, — where  pruning  is  done  with  a  definite  object  in  view,  and  spray- 
ing operations  conducted  at  the  proper  time,  the  tendency  of  the  standard 
commercial  varieties.  White  Winter  Pearmain,  Yellow  Bellefleur  and  Mis- 
souri Pippin,  is  to  overbear,  and  a  full  crop  of  apples  is  the  rule  rather  than 
the  exception.    The  only  exception  to  the  foregoing  statement  that  has  come 


l^^CMaHi^?^ 


to  my  knowledge,  is  where  large  blocks  of  a  single  variety  have  been 
planted  and  the  question  of  proper  cross-pollenation  has  either  been  neg- 
lected or  not  properly  understood. 

The  Soil 

The  soils  of  the  moist  bottom  lands  of  Downey,  Compton  and  Cerritos, 
where  the  majority  of  the  apple  orchards  included  in  this  investigation  are 
located,  are  all  more  or  less  underlaid  with  alkali.  Some  of  the  best  and 
most  productive  apple  orchards  are  in  lands  heavily  impregnated  with  al- 
kali, but  the  rise  of  these  salts  is  often  very  disastrous  to  the  trees,  and 
especially  so  in  orchards  where  the  trees  have  not  attained  sufficient  size 
to  shade  the  ground.  The  direct  cause  of  the  injury  is  the  destruction  of 
the  fine  root  hairs  by  the  corrosive  action  of  the  salts  in  their  passage 
through  the  soil,  and  results  in  the  drying  up  and  eventual  fall  of  the  foliage 
and  often  death  of  the  tree.  This  trouble  is  very  perplexing  to  the  new- 
comers, often  occurring  in  orchards  where  the  soil  shows  no  surface  indica- 
tion of  alkali  at  all,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  it  generally  occurs 
in  spots  or  small  areas,  and  sometimes  upon  a  single  variety  of  apple,  would 
be  taken  for  drought,  the  effects  of  which  it  very  much  resembles.  A  thor- 
ough investigation  by  competent  authority  would  probably  reveal  root  rot 
induced  by  defective  soil  conditions  to  exist  over  an  extensive  area. 

Pollination 

But  very  little.  If  any,  consideration  has  been  given  to  this  important 
factor  in  the  successful  fruiting  of  commercial  orchards.  Large  blocks  of  a 
single  variety — White  Winter  Pearmain — have  been  planted  and  arriving  at 
a  bearing  age  have  blossomed  full,  year  after  year,  but  set  little  or  no  fruit, 
even  in  the  most  favorable  seasons.  This  would  suggest  at  least  partial 
sterility.  Cross-pollination  is  now  an  established  orchard  practice,  and  is 
recognized  as  not  only  increasing  the  quantity,  but  the  quality  of  the  fruit 

To  be  successful  as  cross-pollenlzers,  varieties  must  bloom  simultane- 
ously, and  the  following  list  of  blossoming  time  of  the  different  varieties 
grown  in  Los  Cerritos  Is  here  recorded  as  a  guide  for  future  planting: 


Varietits 

First  Bloom 

Full  Bloom 

General  fall  of  Bloom 

W.  W.  Pearmain 

April  11th 

April 

27th 

May    Sth 

Red  Astrakhan 

"     17th^ 

" 

30th 

"     12th 

Belleflower 

"     20th 

" 

30th 

"     16th 

Fall  Pippin 

"     20th 

May 

Sth 

"     15th 

Rhode  Isl.  Greening 

'"    20th 

" 

Sth 

"     ISth 

KentuckyRed  Streak 

"     20th 

" 

10th 

'•     20th 

Early  Harvest 

"     21st 

" 

6th 

"     12th 

Shock  ley 

"     27th 

'• 

ISth 

"     20th 

Fameuse 

"     27th 

" 

ISth 

•'      22d 

Ben  Davis 

"     29th    • 

«' 

ISth 

"      23d 

Winesap 

May      5th 

" 

17th 

June      1st 

Yellow  Transparent 

"       Sth 

" 

16th 

1st 

None-such 

"       7th 

*' 

16th' 

•'       1st 

Missouri  Pippin 

"     10th 

•' 

20th 

1st 

Alexander 

"     ISth 

" 

2Sth 

1st 

Smiths  Cider 

"     ISth 

" 

2Sth 

6th 

Transcendent  Crabs 

"     30th 

April 

7th 

April  22d 

Hyslop               " 

April  11th 

" 

22d 

"     30th 

Montreal 

"     16th 

it 

24th 

May   7th 

The  practical  point  of  cross-pollination  is  this:  There  are  certain  va- 
rieties of  apples  which,  on  account  of  their  profitableness,  we  wish  to  grow 
largely  for  the  general  market,  but  we  find  their  productiveness  is  very  ma- 
terially reduced  when  planted  alone. 

White  Winter  Pearmain,  Yellow  Belleflower  and  Missouri  Pippin  are 
the  standard  commercial  varieties  grown  in  the  moist  bottom  lands  of  this 
county.  With  a  view  to  selecting  good  pollenizers  for  these  three  varieties 
the  following  tables  have  been  prepared: 


Missouri  Pippin  in  Bloom 
22  Days 


Length  of  time  in  bloom  with 

Missouri  Pippin 
C  None-such        -        .        . 
I  Winesap 


Days 

22 
22 


Yellow  Belleflower  in  Bloom 
26  Days 


1  i 


Smith  Cider 
(^  Alexander         -        .        .        - 

Length  of  time  in  bloom 
with  Belleflower 

(■  Pearmain  .        .        -        - 

Fall  Pippin        .        -        -        - 
Rhode  Island  Greening 
Astrakhan         .        -        .        - 
Early  Harvest 
Kentucky  Red  Streak 
Shockley  -        -        -        - 

Fameuse  -         .        .        - 

L  Ben  Davis         .        .        .        . 

Length  of  time  in  bloom 
with  Pearmain 
f  Astrakhan         .        .        .        - 
I  Belleflower       -        -        -        - 
Fall  Pippin        .        -        -         - 
Rhode  Island  Greening 
Kentucky  Red  Streak 
^      I  Early  Harvest 

I  Fameuse  -----  8 

t  Ben  Davis         -----  8 

In  considering  the  above  tables  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  com- 
parative blooming  of  varieties  is  more  or  less  a  local  problem,  weather  con- 
ditions and  also  soil  conditions  during  the  blooming  season  may  not  only 
hasten  or  retard  the  time  of  blossoming,  but  also  change  the  order  in  which 
the  different  varieties  open  in  the  same  locality,  and  while  the  above  list  of 
dates  indicates  in  a  general  way  which  of  our  standard  commercial  varieties 
may  be  expected  under  ordinary  conditions  to  bloom  together,  each  pros- 
pective planter  should  learn  how  varieties  bloom  in  his  own  immediate 
neighborhood  and  be  prepared  to  make  minor  corrections  before  planting 
them  for  cross-pollination. 


White  Winter  Pearmain 
in  Bloom  24  Days 


1  i 


Days 
15 
25 
25 
22 
21 
26 
19 
19 
17 

Days 
18 
15 
15 
15 
15 
14 


Pruning 


Careless  pruning,  or  to  better  express  it,  mutilation  of  the  trees  with  the 
ax  has  hastened  the  arrival  of  many  apple  trees  to  their  present  stage  of  un- 
profitableness. The  removal  of  the  lower  branches  to  get  them  out  of  the 
way  of  cultivation  has  exposed  five  or  six  feet  of  the  trunk  to  the  rays  of  the 
afternoon  sun,  and  severe  sun  scald  is  the  natural  result,  the  tops  are  brush 
piles,  while  stubs  of  branches  that  have  broken  with  an  overload  of  fruit 
show  their  splintered  ends  or,  in  more  ancient  cases,  the  holes  produced  by 
the  root  fungi  in  their  progress  to  the  heart  of  the  tree. 

In  opposition  to  the  foregoing  statement  the  better  class  of  apple  orch- 
ards show  the  results  of  thoughtful  pruning  and  careful  protection  of  the 
wounds.  Every  year  is  demonstrating  more  and  more  to  the  observant 
growers  the  wisdom  of  Prof.  Wickson's  advice  to  grow  low-headed  trees 
in  California,  and  the  coming  apple  orchards  show  a  practical  application  of 
those  principles. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  the  necessity  of  removing  broken 
limbs  close  to  the  body  of  the  tree;  sap  does  not  circulate  freely  in  these 
stubs  and  hence  no  new  tissue  is  produced.  Scars  caused  by  removing 
limbs,  as  well  as  all  wounds  and  bruises,  should  be  protected  by  a  coat  of 
white  lead  and  oil,  paint  or  pine  tar.  Left  unprotected,  they  induce  the 
growth  of  fungi,  to  which  source  can  very  probably  be  traced  the  spores 
that  produce  some  of  the  fungus  diseases  attacking  the  fruit,  and  thus  estab 
lish  a  little  known  connection  between  pruning  and  unprofitableness. 

San  Jose  Scale 

This  scourge  of  the  deciduous  fruit  trees  is  very  generally  distributed 
throughout  the  apple  orchards  of  this  district,  and  has  been  so  for  many 


years.  Various  methods  have  been  employed  in  combating  It  in  the  past, 
including  hydro-cyanic  gas,  lime  sulphur  and  salt,  pure  kerosene,  kerosene 
emulsion,  and  the  different  brands  of  distillate  emulsions  offered  for  sale 
In  the  market.  In  no  single  Instance  has  complete  eradication  been  ob- 
tained. Growers  who  understand  the  nature  of  the  insect  do  not  expect 
eradication  to  result  from  a  single  annual  treatment,  but  continue  to  spray 
every  year  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  commercial  control,  or,  in  other 
words,  clean  fruit. 

Lime  sulphur  and  salt  is  considered  the  sovereign  remedy  for  this  pest 
by  the  majority  of  growers,  and  in  localities  where  this  standard  wash  has 
been  generally  and  persistently  used  clean  fruit  has  been  the  result  and 
the  spread  of  the  insect  controlled.  The  proper  preparation  of  the  lime, 
sulphur  and  salt  wash  with  the  utensils  ordinarily  found  upon  the  farm  is 
a  very  tedious  and  difficult  task,  and  the  application  of  it  over  an  extended 
period  amounts  to  positive  torture;  the  destruction  of  valves,  nozzles  and 
other  parts  of  the  spraying  machinery  is  also  very  rapid. 

These  conditions  have  created  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  even  with 
growers  who  fully  appreciate  its  efficacy,  and  have  brought  about  a  desire 
to  find  some  other  remedy  that  would  produce  as  good  results  combined 
with  comparative  ease  of  mixing  and  applying.  This  desire  culminated  dur- 
ing the  present  season  in  the  adoption  of  the  use  of  distillate  emulsions  for 
this  purpose  in  a  large  number  of  orchards.  The  results  obtained  even 
where  the  mixture  was  applied  by  power  machines  operated  by  professional 
sprayers  was  very  unsatisfactory,  and  in  come  cases  of  Individual  appli- 
cation by  the  growers  proved  disastrous  to  the  trees  and  fruit. 

Analysis  of  the  different  brands  of  commercial  distillate  emulsions 
shows  the  oil  contents  to  vary  greatly  and  the  stability  of  the  emulsions 
when  diluted  to  be  unreliable.  Until  these  conditions  are  permanently  over- 
come the  grower  who  decides  to  use  emulsions  should  learn  to  prepare  his 
own. 

In  combating  an  insect  pest  the  nature  of  the  remedy  employed  must 
be  governed  by  the  condition  of  the  insect  at  the  time  of  the  application. 
Apple  trees  are  generally  sprayed  for  San  Jose  scale  during  the  months  of 
February  and  March.  At  this  time  the  San  Jose  scale  Is  in  its  hardest  and 
most  invulnerable  condition,  and  to  be  successfully  attacked  requires  the 
application  of  washes  of  the  most  caustic  nature.  The  consistency  of  washes 
of  this  class  prevents  them  from  spreading  easily;  the  scale  insects  lo- 
cated in  the  deeply  wrinkled  surface  of  the  crooked  fruit  spurs  and  at  the 
base  of  the  bud  scales  usually  escape  contact,  and  were  it  not  for  the  perma- 
nent coating  left  upon  the  tree  which  very  probably  prevents  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  young  from  obtaining  a  suitable  location,  lime  sulphur  and  salt 
would  perhaps  prove  less  satisfactory  than  it  is. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing  (Oct.  27th)  the  San  Jose  scale  on  badly  in- 
fested trees  Is  breeding  rapidly;  the  young  larvae  are  crawling  about  over 
the  backs  of  the  old  scale  and  swarming  over  the  branches  In  every  direc- 
tion. It  is  my  opinion  that  the  females  of  this  brood  will  constitute  the 
great  majority  of  those  that  successfully  winter  over  and  commence  the 
work  of  reproduction  next  May.  In  this  unprotected  condition  they  may  be 
easily  killed  by  applications  of  emulsions,  sufficiently  diluted  as  to  insure 
no  damage  to  the  tree.  Those  who  prefer  to  employ  this  remedy  will  ob- 
tain more  satisfactory  results  by  attacking  the  larvae  of  these  late  broods 
than  by  waiting  until  spring,  when  the  insects  will  have  attained  their 
growth  and  be  In  a  fully-armored  condition. 

A  very  efficient,  predaceous  parasite  is  at  work  upon  the  San  Jose 
scale  in  this  district.  In  orchards  where  it  has  not  been  disturbed  by  dis- 
infection of  the  trees  very  satisfactory  work  has  resulted.  Specimens  of 
this  insect  sent  for  identification  proved  difficult  of  classification,  and  sug- 
gestions were  received  that  It  was  probably  new  to  science.  At  the  time  of 
this  writing  no  name  has  been  received  for  it. 

Codling/Moth 

The  financial  loss  to  the  apple  growers  caused  by  the  depredations  of 
the  larvae  of  this  Insect  were  more  the  cause  of  this  Investigation  and  the 
renewed  Interest  manifested  in  the  apple  Industry  than  any  other  prob- 
lem.    Growers  complain  bitterly  of  the  destructive  work  of  this  pest,  and 


declare  that  it  does  not,  in  this  county,  follow  the  orthodox  round  of  life.. 
as  described  by  writers  in  other  apple-growing  districts.  They  also  aver 
that  spraying  with  arsenites  as  recommended  is  unavailing,  and  does  not 
control  the  destructive  work  of  the  insect  upon  the  late  varieties  in  the 
least. 

Discussion  of  this  subject  by  the  apple  growers  at  the  meetings  held 
during  the  spring  months  developed  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to 
the  relative  value  of  one  or  more  sprayings  with  paris  green,  there  being  no 
record  to  corroborate  the  statements  made.  A  series  of  experiments  were 
planned,  and  the  following  is  a  record  of  the  results  obtained  in  one  of 
them: 

Four  typical  trees,  9  years  old,  were  selected  in  the  center  of  an  orchard. 
White  Winter  Pearmain  was  chosen,  as  the  fruit  of  that  variety  is  about 
the  last  to  be  gathered  and  consequently  suffers  the  most  from  the  attacks 
of  the  later  broods  of  worms.  The  trees  were  marked  and  sprayed  as  fol- 
lows: 

Experiment  No.  0 — Not  sprayed  at  all. 
Experiment  No.  1 — Sprayed  with  paris  green,  June  2nd. 
Experiment  No.  2 — Sprayed  with  paris  green,  June  2nd,  July  14th. 
Experiment  No.  3 — Sprayed  with  paris  green,  June  2nd,  July  14th,  Aug.  25. 

All  the  trees  in  the  orchard  except  No.  0  were  sprayed  with  paris  green 
on  June  2nd.  Bands  were  put  upon  the  trees  June  12th  and  attended  to 
carefully  every  10  days  afterwards.  The  windfalls  from  these  trees  were 
also  promptly  gathered  and  removed.  On  October  7th  the  fruit  upon  these 
four  trees  was  carefully  picked,  weighed,  counted  and  the  worm-eaten  ap- 
ples separated.     The  result  is  given  below: 


Trees 

Weight  of 

Apples 

Number  of 
Apples 

Number  of 
Wormy  Apples 

Percentage 
Wormy 

No.  0 

330  lbs. 

1123 

320 

30% 

No.  1 

308  lbs. 

846 

123 

15% 

No.  2 

341  lbs. 

971 

140 

15% 

No.  3 

363  lbs. 

1214 

182 

15% 

The  percentage  in  round  numbers  of  the  wormy  apples  given  in  the 
above  table,  shows  very  plainly  the  great  importance  and  value  of  the  first 
spraying,  the  percentage  of  wormy  apples  on  the  tree  not  sprayed  at  all 
being  nearly  double  that  of  any  of  the  other  sprayed  trees.  The  failure  of 
the  second  and  third  sprayings  to  further  reduce  the  percentage  of  wormy 
apples,  as  shown  by  the  record  of  the  tree  sprayed  once,  was  very  probably 
caused  (as  will  be  shown  further  along)  by  the  applications  being  made  at 
the  wrong  time. 

A  record  was  kept  of  the  number  of  worms  taken  under  the  bands  upon 
each  of  these  four  trees,  as  follows: 


Trees 

Bands  removed 

No.  0 

Worms  taken 

No.  1 

"     

No.  2 

"     

No.  3 

..     

Total  taken  each  time 


June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Total 
from 
each 
tree 

107 

64 

67 

60 

1 

22 
3 
0 
1 
0 
4 

1 
13 
1 
5 
6 
25 

11 

20 

6 

5 

9 

40 

21 
23 
9 
11 
14 
57 

31 
17 
12 
9 
11 
49 

11 
4 
4 
6 
3 

17 

22 
2 
6 
6 
5 

19 

2 
5 
4 
2 
3 
14 

12 

12 

8 

8 

3 

31 

22 
8 

14 

12 
6 

40 

The  above  record  shows  that  the  worms  are  entering  and  leaving  the 
fruit  all  summer;  it  also  gives  the  approximate  dates  at  which  the  larvae 
of  the  two  broods  reach  their  maximum  and  minimum  numbers.  The  first 
brood  in  this  instance  had  reached  its  maximum  when  the  bands  were  re- 
moved on  July  21st.  The  second  maximum  came  on  September  22nd.  Upon 
the  knowledge  of  when  these  maximums  are  reached  depends  in  a  great 
measure  the  success  of  late  spraying.  Scientific  experiments  made  by 
entomologists  have  shown  that  the  greatest  hatch  of  the  eggs  takes  place 
in  from  25  to  30  days  from  the  time  the  greatest  number  of  worms  leave 
the  fruit.  The  probable  cause  of  failure  of  the  spraying  in  experiments 
Nos.  2  and  3  was  the  lack  of  this  knowledge.  In  those  experiments  the 
greatest  number  of  worms  leaving  the  fruit  occurring  on  July  the  21st,  the 
greatest  amount  of  young  worms  of  the  next  brood  seeking  to  enter  the 
fruit  would  have  occurred  approximately  on  Aug.  14th;  whereas  the  second 
spraying  was  done  on  July  14th,  a  month  too  soon,  and  the  third  spray- 
ing on  Aug.  25th,  a  week  or  ten  days  too  late  to  catch  the  main  crop  of 
this  second  brood. 

Both  observation  and  experiment  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  make  the  paris  green  stay  upon  the  smooth  surface  of  the  fruit 
for  any  length  of  time,  and  even  where  the  sticking  qualities  are  improved 
by  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture  as  a  conveyor  for  the  poison,  the  surface 
of  the  rapidly  growing  fruit  is  expanding  in  such  a  manner  as  to  soon  leave 
much  of  the  surface  uncovered.  Success  with  late  spraying  for  Codling- 
moth  will  probably  result  from  applications  of  paris  green,  made  just  as  the 
greatest  number  of  young  worms  are  about  to  enter  the  fruit.  This  will 
necessitate  close  observation  upon  the  part  of  each  individual  grower.  The 
bands,  however,  serve  as  a  barometer  in  thise  case  and  point  out  with  un- 
erring accuracy  the  development  of  each  brood.  No  fixed  dates  can  be  set 
for  late  spraying,  or,  for  that  matter,  any  spraying.  Each  apple  grower 
should  select  five  or  six  trees  in  different  parts  of  the  orchard,  and  keep 
a  daily  record  of  the  number  of  worms  taken  under  each  one;  he  will  then 
be  able  to  determine  when  the  maximum  number  of  worms  are  leaving  the 
fruit,  spraying  on  the  25th  day  after  the  largest  number  of  worms  are 
taken  under  the  bands  will  get  the  poison  on  the  tree  during  the  time  the 
greatest  number  of  newly-hatched  worms  are  entering  the  fruit. 

Bands 

Banding  the  trees  with  strips  of  cloth  is  one  of  the  best  knowit  methods 
of  supplementing  spraying  with  arsenites  in  this  fight  against  the  Codling- 
moth.  Growers  are  recognizing  this  and  the  use  of  bands  is  becoming  more 
general.  The  early  varieties  of  apples  suffer  but  little  from  the  worms, 
and  diligent  attention  to  the  bands  will  greatly  reduce  the  increasing  hordes 
that  infest  the  late  apples  from  the  middle  of  August  up  to  harvest  time 
These  bands  made  from  pieces  of  old  sacks,  folded  once  and  secured  around 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  by  twine  or  baling-wire,  should  be  put  on  early  in 
June  and  removed,  and  the  worms  destroyed  at  least  once  in  every  ten 
days  afterwards. 

Scraping  the  Bark 

This  is  practiced  by  some  growers  for  the  dual  purpose  of  destroying 
such  larvae  as  may  be  wintering  under  the  rough  bark,  and  for  compelling 
the  worms  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the  bands  during  the  coming  season  by 
removing  such  projecting  surfaces  as  might  serve  for  hiding  places.  Vari- 
ous devices  are  used  to  accomplish  this,  but  perhaps  the  best  that  has 
come  under  the  writer's  attention  is  an  old  well-worn  rasp,  such  as  may 
be  found  discarded  in  any  blacksmith's  shop. 

Appearance  of  the  Moths 

An  attempt  was  made  to  keep  a  record  of  the  time  of  the  appearance 
of  the  moths  during  the  season.  Worms  were  gathered  from  old  boxes 
and  from  bands  on  the  trees  during  the  winter  months  and  placed  in  a  com- 
mon fruit  jar,  the  mouth  being  secured  by  a  covering  of  lawn.  The  first 
moth  appeared  in  the  breeding  jar  on  the  6th  of  April;  on  the  10th  of  April 


the  issue  of  moths  was  general,  the  majority  of  those  in  the  jar  issuing 
upon  thai  day.  The  first  moth  taken  outside  was  caught  on  April  the  15th. 
On  June  the  24th  a  moth  issued  from  pupae  taken  on  June  22nd  from  oe- 
neath  a  band  placed  upon  the  tree  June  12th.  On  July  1st  a  band,  just  as 
it  was  taken  from  the  tree,  was  placed  in  a  glass  fruit  jar;  this  was  con- 
tinued Uy  placing  a  fresh  band  in  a  jar  each  week.  On  July  the  2nd  three 
moths  issued;  every  morning  afterwards  these  jars  were  examined,  the 
live  moths  liberated  into  an  inverted  tumbler,  cyanided,  and  the  jar  closed 
again.  With  but  four  exceptions  Codling-moths  issued  every  24  hours  from 
July  2nd  until  -September  12th.  On  August  the  5th  an  Ichneumon-fly  was 
found  among  the  Codling-moth  escaping  from  the  breeding  jar  into  the 
cyaniding  glass;  these  appeared  again  later,  and  grew  more  numerous  as 
the  month  of  August  progressed.  To  guard  against  any  possible  mistake 
a  few  bands  were  left  upon  the  trees  until  many  of  the  larvae  of  the  Codling- 
moth  had  gone  into  the  pupae  state.  These  pupae  were  carefully  removed 
from  the  bands  and  placed  in  a  separate  jar,  100  in  all  being  gathered.  On 
Aug.  14th  a  count  of  the  contents  showed  32  Ichneumon  flies,  11  Codling- 
moths  and  a  large  number  of  very  small  flies  unknown  to  the  writer.  The 
remainder  of  the  pupae  were  very  much  discolored,  shrunk,  dried  and  ap- 
parently dead.  The  large  percentage  of  parasites  issuing  from  this  lot 
may  probably  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  parasitized  pupae  were 
easily  detected  by  their  discolored  appearance  and  were  unquestionably 
selectee^  on  that  account  from  out  the  number  found  under  the  bands. 

Specimens  of  the  two  parasites  bred  out  were  sent  to  the  proper  au- 
thorities for  identification.  At  the  time  of  this  writing  no  reply  has  been 
received. 


Causes  to  Cull  Apples 


During  the  winter  and  early  spring  months  of  the  present  year,  corre- 
spondence was  had  with  some  of  the  commercial  apple  growers  in  other 
parts  of  the  State  with  a  view  to  finding  out  about  what  was  the  percentage 
of  the  Codling-moth.  The  replies  received  ranged  from  6  per  cent  up  to  as 
high  as  15  per  cent.  Growers  in  the  county  to  whom  these  letters  were 
read  declared  that  the  culls  in  their  orchards  amounted  to  50  per  cent 
every  year,  and  charged  them  all  up  to  the  work  of  the  Codling-moth.  With 
a  view  to  getting  some  facts  on  this  subject  several  orchards  were  visited  at 
packing  time  and  a  census  of  what  caused  the  culls  was  taken.  The  findings 
are  enumerated  in  the  following  tables: 


An  orchard  in  Compton,  trees  sev- 
eral varieties,  20  years  old;  sprayed 
with  lime,  sulphur  and  salt;  Bordeaux 
mixture  before  buds  started;  paris 
green  twice;  bands  used.  Count  made 
Sept.   29th. 

Sound    68  apples 

Stem-ender    12      " 

Codling-moth     8 

Puncture    8      " 

Leaf -folder    3       " 

Fungus     1       " 

Total 100       " 

An  orchard  in  Cerritos,  trees  Pear 
mains  and  Belleflowers,  10  years  old; 
in  good,  thrifty  condition;  sprayed 
paris  green  once;  no  bands.  Count 
made  Sept.  30th. 

Sound    55  apples 

Codling-moth     20 

Stem-ender    17 

Puncture    6 

Leaf-folder    2 

Fungus    0 

Total 100 


An    orchard    in    Compton,    trees    all 

Pearmain,  18  years  old.     Not  sprayed 

at   all   this   year.     Count   made    Sept 

29th. 

Sound    48  apples 

Stem-ender    32       " 

Codling-moth    7       " 

Puncture    1       " 

Leaf-folder    5       " 

Fungus    7       " 

Total 100      " 

An  orchard  in  Cerritos,  trees  many 
varieties,  25  years  old;  badly  run 
down;  not  sprayed  with  paris  green; 
no  bands  used.  Count  made  Sept 
30th. 

Sound    56  apples 

Codling-moth     17 

Stem-ender    20       " 

Puncture    7       " 

Leaf-folder     0       " 

Fungus    0       " 

Total 100       " 


An  orchard  in  Downey,  trees  many 
varieties,  4  years  old.  in  good  condi 
tion;  sprayed  witli  paris  green  and 
Bordeaux  mixture  twice.  Count  made 
October  6th. 

Sound    77  apples 

Codling-moth     3       " 

Stem-ender    4     ." 

Puncture    11 

Leaf-folder    1 

Fungus    4 

Total 100 


An  orchard  in  Downey,  trees  8e^ 
eral  varieties,  12  years  old,  in  good 
condition;  sprayed  with  paris  green; 
bands  used.     Count  made  October  6th 

Sound    49  apples 

Codling-moth    23 

Stem-ender    8 

Puncture    17       " 

Leaf -folder.   3 

Fungus    0 

Total 100       " 


An  examination  of  the  above  tables  will  show  that  the  Codling-moth 
is  probably  not  much  worse  in  the  apple  orchards  of  this  county  than  in 
orchards  In  other  parts  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  That  it  is  very  ably  assisted 
by  other  insects  in  the  destruction  of  the  fruit  has  long  been  recognized  by 
some  of  the  more  observant  of  the  apple  growers.  The  results  set  forth 
in  the  above  tables  were  all  made  upon  Pearmain  apples,  that  variety  being 
supposed  to  suffer  the  most.  Every  effort  was  made  to  have  the  count  a 
fair  and  impartial  one,  and  with  one  exception  the  grading  was  done  by  the 
grower  himself.  Many  of  the  apples  marked  by  the  different  causes  enumer- 
ated were  not  sufficiently  marred  as  to  prevent  their  being  classed  as 
No.  1  grade,  and  the  number  of  apples  classed  as  sound  does  not  represent 
the  percentage  of  first-class  marketable  apples. 

In  looking  over  the  causes  of  culls,  most  of  the  terms  will  explain 
themselves.  By  puncture  is  meant  where  the  small  worm  has  commenced 
to  burrow  into  the  side  of  the  apple,  but  rarely  succeeded  in  entering  further 
than  %  inch.  For  some  reason  further  operation  is  suspended,  the  wound 
heals  over  and  the  apple  is  not  injured.  These  punctures  can  be  readily 
distinguished  from  the  work  of  the  mature  apple  worm  by  persons  ac- 
quainted with  both.  Many  of  the  growers  are  inclined  to  believe  this  to  be 
a  different  insect.  I  have  many  times  seen  the  tiny  fellow  myself,  but 
have  never  been  able  to  raise  one,  and  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  the 
newly-hatched  larvae  of  the  Codling-moth,  and  that  it  is  prevented  from 
continuing  its  work  by  premature  death  from  some  unknown  cause. 

The  Sterna  Ender 

This  is  the  characteristic  came  applied  by  the  apple  growers  to  a  little 
known  insect  that  feeds  around  the  stem  of  the  apple,  never  burrowing 
into  the  fruit,  but  eating  out  extensive  cavities  at  the  base;  the  worm 
often  found  there  is  quite  distinct  from  the  larvae  of  the  leaf-folder  or  he 
apple-worm,  being  much  thicker  and  darker  colored.  It  is  a  serious  pest  and 
a  better  knowledge  of  its  life  history  might  suggest  some  method  of  coi> 
trolling  it.  Being  a  surface  feeder,  the  use  of  arsenites  immediately  sug- 
gests itself  as  a  remedy  that  would  easily  reach  both  this  insect  and  the 
leaf-folder.  A  close  observation,  however,  will  show  why  this  method  often 
fails.  When  a  leaf-folder  devotes  its  attention  to  an  apple  it  invariably 
attaches  a  leaf  to  the  fruit  underneath,  which  it  works  and  thus  protects 
itself  from  any  invasion  by  the  spray  pump.  With  the  Stem-ender  he 
seeks  out  a  cluster  of  apples  where  the  bases  touch  each  other  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  form  a  natural  barrier  against  any  attempt  to  furnish  a  change 
of  diet.  Later  and  more  extended  observations  have  led  me  to  believe  that 
perhaps  some  of  the  less  characteristic  work  charged  up  in  the  foreoging 
tables  to  the  Stem-ender,  may  have  been  caused  by  the  gnawing  of  some 
of  the  larvae  of  the  Codling-moth  that  pupated  in  that  location. 


Fungus   Diseases 


Apples  grown  in  the  district  covered  by  this  investigation  suffer  very 
severely  from  the  attacks  of  the  various  forms  of  rot  fungil,  the  most  profit- 
able variety.  White  Winter  Pearmain,  is  especially  subject  to  attack  upon 
the  wood  and  fruit.     The  present  year,  however,  has  proved  the  exception, 

9 


and  the  absence  of  this  pest  an  any  of  its  forms  has  prevented  any  ob- 
servations upon  the  time  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  different  forms  upon 
the  fruit 

Some  experiments  were  made  with  Bordeaux  mixture,  but  no  conclu- 
sions can  be  drawn  as  to  results,  on  account  of  the  comparative  absence 
of  the  pest. 

Woolly  Aphis 

Fully  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  apple  trees  in  the  Fourth  Supervisor- 
ial District  of  this  County  are  infested  with  woolly  aphis.  But  few  of  the 
growers  realize  the  destructive  nature  of  this  insect  they  see  only  the 
aerial  or  limb  form,  and  overlook  or  are  ignorant  of  the  destructive  work 
done  by  those  infesting  the  roots.  The  aerial  or  limb  forms  are  easily 
controlled  by  any  soapy  or  oily  washes,  and  the  spasmodic  atempts  that 
have  been  made  against  this  form  of  the  insect  have  usually  been  success- 
ful, as  far  as  that  one  brood  was  concerned.  The  same  results  would  prob- 
ably have  been  accomplished  had  no  attempt  at  all  been  made,  as  this  form 
of  the  insect  is  very  effectively  parasited  by  the  native  coccinellid  beetles, 
and  the  larvae  of  the  lace  wing  fly.  The  root  form  of  this  insect  is  what 
is  causing  the  damage  to  the  apple  trees  in  this  district,  it  attacks  in 
immense  numbers  the  main  roots  near  the  trunk;  water  sprouts  appear  in 
large  numbers,  the  diminished  supply  of  sap  is  diverted  from  its  proper  chan- 
nels, the  tree  does  not  grow  as  it  should,  the  roots  are  finally  killed  and 
then  rot,  support  of  the  tree  is  gone  and  the  first  high  wind  blows  it  over. 
In  but  one  single  instance  that  I  know  of  has  any  systematic  attempt 
been  made  to  eradicate  the  root  form  of  this  pest,  and  this  attempt  was,  I 
believe,  successful.  This  was  a  case  of  200  young  apple  trees  badly  in- 
fested with  woolly  aphis.  The  person  in  charge  of  this  orchard  had  per- 
sistently fought  the  tree  form  for  two  years,  with  almost  every  kind  of 
spray  wash,  the  distillate  emulsion  had  proved  the  most  effective,  but  they 
returned  in  fresh  colonies  as  fast  as  the  preceding  ones  were  killed.  Upon 
explaining  the  habits  of  the  insect  to  the  man  in  charge  of  the  orchards  and 
assuring  him  that  unless  the  colonies  at  the  root  were  exterminated  he 
would  have  to  spray  the  trees  two  or  three  times  every  year,  he  immedi- 
ately went  to  work  and  scraped  the  dirt  away  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree 
making  a  basin-like  cavity  three  feet  in  diameter.  In  this  basin  over  the 
roots  was  poured  a  cupful  of  undiluted  distillate  emulsion,  and  the  earth  re- 
placed. With  the  worst  cases,  one  month  later,  no  aphis  have  shown  upon 
these  trees  since.  The  following  factors  may  have  signally  helped  to  make 
a  success  of  this  method  of  combating  the  root  form  of  woolly  aphis. 

1st.  These  trees  were  young  at  the  time  of  treatment,  being  only 
four  years  old,  consequently  the  root  system  was  naturally  limited  to  a 
small  area  and  easily  reached. 

2nd.  The  land  in  this  case  was  especially  adapted  to  success,  being 
a  loose,  open,  gravelly  loam. 

With  older,  larger  trees,  this  method  of  treatment  might  not  be  safe, 
the  extended  area  of  the  root  system  would  necessitate  the  use  of  distillate 
in  such  quantities  as  might  eventually  prove  more  disastrous  than  the  pest 
itself.  Tobacco  dust  has  been  proven  to  be  a  safe  and  very  efficient  remedy 
for  the  root  form  of  wooly  aphis.  Before  the  winter  rains  commence,  the 
earth  should  be  removed  from  above  the  roots  to  a  depth  of  four  to  six 
inches,  making  a  circle  around  the  tree  of  four  to  five  feet.  In  this  space 
three  pounds  of  tobacco  dust  should  be  evenly  distributed  and  the  earth 
replaced.  The  rains  will  carry  this  down  and  around  the  roots  and  saturate 
the  earth  about  the  tree  with  nicotine,  which  will  kill  the  aphis  already 
there  and  prevent  others  from  entering. 

Tobacco  grows  readily  upon  the  class  of  soil  in  which  these  infested 
apple  trees  are  growing.  The  stronger  and  ranker  the  better  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  the  owner  of  an  infested  orchard  could  probably  make  no  better 
investment  than  to  plant  a  small  patch  of  tobacco  each  year,  to  be  used  for 
destroying  woolly  aphis. 

Spraying 

Notwithstanding  the  success  of  fumigation  in  controlling  the  insect  ene- 
mies of  the  fruit  grower,  spraying  will  always  remain  a  prime  factor  in  the 

10 


I         A     001  055  885     6 

production  of  first-class  apples.  Fungus  diseases  cannot  be  controlled  by 
hydro-cyanic  acid  gas,  and  the  codling-moth  breeds  over  too  extended  a 
period  to  be  successfully  reached  by  fumigation.  Spraying  for  San  Jose  scale 
has  given  strange  results  during  the  past  season.  In  many  orchards  it  has 
apparently  done  no  good  whatever.  Complaints  are  common  that  spraying 
does  not  pay.  Just  why  it  has  proved  so  imsatisfactory  this  year  I  am  unable 
to  say,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  it  should  be  discontinued.  Some  years 
the  crop  of  apples  is  a  failure,  but  no  one  condemns  the  orchard  as  a  nuis- 
ance on  that  account.  With  the  present  condition  of  the  apple  orchards,  the 
deciding  of  the  question  as  to  who  shall  have  the  apples  in  the  future,  the 
growers  or  the  pests,  will  depend  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  vigorous 
and  intelligent  use  of  the  spray  pump. 

Practical  orchardists  now  generally  recognize  the  fact  that  an  annual 
disinfection  of  the  trees  is  just  as  essential  to  the  production  of  a  maximum 
amount  of  first-class  fruit  as  are  cultivation,  irrigation  or  any  other  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  horticulture.  In  my  opinion  this  will  have  to  be 
kept  up  indefinitely.  Nature  is  always  striving  to  maintain  a  balance  in 
insect  life.  A  single  annual  disinfection  disturbs  this  balance,  by  destroy- 
ing the  natural  causes  that  are  striving  to  check  the  full  development  of 
the  pests,  and  by  cleaning  the  trees  and  stimulating  them  to  a  more  vigor- 
ous growth  and  greater  production  of  food  supply  for  such  pests  as  escape 
or  may  infest  them  from  other  sources.  Hence  disinfection  by  any  method 
must  be  regularly  followed.  The  maximum  of  first-class  fruit  is  reached 
by  the  reduction  of  insect  pests  and  fungus  diseases  to  the  minimum,  and 
every  box  of  first-class  fruit  above  the  average  crop  is  what  tends  to  put 
the  balance  on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger,  and  thus  demonstrates  that  an 
annual  treament  does  pay. 

No  fixed  rules  can  be  laid  down  for  controlling  the  insect  enemies  of 
the  orchard;  remedies  may  be  suggested  and  proven,  but  success  depends 
upon  a  careful  study  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  in  each  in- 
dividual case.  Observations  have  shown  the  same  class  of  insect  to  be  in 
entirely  different  conditions  in  two  orchards  divided  only  by  a  forty-foot 
road.  The  better  a  grower  understands  the  nature  of  the  insect  he  is 
combating,  the  closer  he  watches  their  development,  the  more  satisfactory 
will  be  the  results  he  obtains. 

A  synopsis  is  here  given  of  the  approximate  cost  of  the  different  spray 
washes  used  in  the  apple  orchards,  based  upon  prices  ruling  last  spring: 

Lime,  Sulphur  and  Salt  Wash. 
Lime. 

Quantity   for   50   gallons 40  lbs. 

Cost    30c 

Cost  of  cooking 

Charge  for  applying 

12.51 
Bordeaux  Mixture. 

Lime.  Bluestone. 

(Copper  Sulphate.) 

Quantity  for  50  gallons 6  lbs.  6  lbs. 

Cost    5c  45c  I  .50 

Cost    of   applying 1.00 


Sulphur. 

Salt. 

20  lbs. 

15  lbs. 

43c 

18c 

1  .91 

.40 
1.20 

11.50 
Paris  Green. 

Lime.        Paris  Green. 

Quantity  for  50  gallons 3  lbs.  H  lb. 

Cost     3c  9c  I  .12 

Cost   of  applying .80 


%  .92 

The  above  figures  were  furnished  by  a  contractor  for  this  kind  of  work, 
who  also  stated  that  the  cost  per  tree,  taking  an  average  7-year-old  tree  as 
a  basis,  would  be  approximately  as  follows,  all  material  furnished,  cooked 
and  applied: 

11 


Lime  Sulphur  and   Salt 3%c  per  tree 

Bordeaux  Mixture    l%c 

Paris  Green   Ic 

This  would  make  the  total  cost  of  treatment  as  prescribed  for  San  Jose 
scale  and  Codling-moth  for  a  year,  about  as  follows,  per  tree: 

Lime,  Sulphur  and  Salt 3%c  per  tree 

Bordeaux  Mixture,  before  buds  start l%c 

Paris  Green,  three  times 3c 

Scraping  bark    2c 

Bands  and  labor  attending  to  them 5c 


15c 

Picking,  Packing  and  Marketing 

Upon  these  operations  depend  very  largely  the  financial  success  of  ap- 
ble  growing.  The  expense  attendant  upon  this  part  of  the  enterprise  is  gen- 
erally greater  than  that  of  all  other  operations  combined,  and  any  improve- 
ments in  methods  or  appliances  that  will  tend  to  lessen  this  expense  should 
be  carefully  studied  and  adopted  by  the  growers. 

The  individual  grower  or  the  community  in  general,  as  the  case  may 
be,  should  strive  to  obtain  a  reputation  for  an  honest  and  uniform  pack.  The 
grower  who,  by  honest  sorting  and  packing,  has  gained  this  reputation  has 
no  diflSculty  in  finding  a  buyer  for  his  crop;  he  generally  finds  the  same 
buyer  eager  to  take  the  crop  off  his  hands  each  year  at  profitable  prices. 
With  the  grower  who  compels  his  good  fruit  to  sell  his  culls  the  reverse 
is  true,  and  he  can  expect  no  permanent  profit  to  result  until  he  changes 
his  methods. 

Regarding  the  lax  methods,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  the  entire  lack 
of  method,  in  harvesting  and  marketing  the  fruit  in  many  orchards  that 
have  come  under  this  investigation,  perhaps  the  less  said  the  better.  What 
is  urgently  needed  as  the  first  step  towards  permanent  improvement  along 
this  line,  is  the  establishment  of  an  adequate  plant  to  work  up  the  culls.  At 
present  the  majority  of  these  are  a  dead  loss  and  the  knowledge  of  this 
creates  a  tendency  to  work  off  as  many  as  possible  in  the  pack.  With  an 
established  demand  for  this  part  of  the  crop  this  tendency  would  be  over- 
come, an  honest,  reliable,  uniform  pack  obtained;  a  reputation  won  and  a 
profitable  market  assured. 

Conclusions 

1st.  Certain  varieties  of  apples  can  be  very  profitably  grown  in  the 
moist  bottom  lands  of  this  county. 

2nd.  The  local  demand  for  first-class  fruit  is  far  in  excess  of  the  visi- 
ble supply,  and  should  prove  a  stimulus  to  better  methods  of  production. 

.»  3/d.  Observations  and  experiments  show  that  the  work  of  the  Codling- 
motU  is  apparently  no  worse  in  the  apple  orchards  of  this  county  than  in 
otb<^  parts  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

4th.  A  careful  study  by  a  competent  entomologist  of  the  insects  as- 
sisting the  Codling-moth  in  the  destruction  of  the  fruit,  with  a  view  to  a 
better  knowledge  of  how  to  successfully  fight  them. 

5th.  A  more  thorough,  systematic  and  concerted  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  growers  to  control  the  insect  enemies  and  fungus  diseases;  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  preparing  and  of  the  principles  governing  the 
successful  application   of  insecticides. 

6th.  A  more  extended  acquaintance  with  the  subject  of  cross-pollena- 
tion  and  a  determination  by  experiment  of  the  best  pollenizers  for  the 
standard  commercial  varieties  grown  in  this  locality.  A  practical  testing 
of  some  of  the  better  class  of  desert  apples  apparently  suitable  to  local  con- 
ditions, and  more  thorough  and  extensive  cultivation  in  the  younger  orchards. 
'<,  7th.  A  prompt  cure  for  the  deep-seated  trouble  resulting  from  the  ac- 
cumulated evils  of  years  of  neglect  and  the  complete  elimination  of  a  con- 
tinual source  of  infestation  by  the  removal  of  many  of  the  old  orchards. 
Continued  co-operation  on  the  part  of  every  member  of  the  Apple  Growe'rs' 
Association  with  the  Horticultural  Commission  until  these  ends  are  attained, 
and  the  apple  industry  of  this  county  restored  to  a  permanent,  profitable 
basis. 

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